Hello and welcome! I teach and study Comparative Politics and Middle East Politics in the Department of Political Science at the University of Alabama. Prior to coming to Alabama, I spent the better part of 15 years at the University of Tuebingen where I received my PhD in 2008. My first academic job took me to Egypt at the American University in Cairo.

I am broadly interested in the politics of authoritarianism, which characterizes the countries I am most concerned with. Through the lens of authoritarianism, over the years I have explored the politics of economic reforms, state-society relations, political opposition and Islamist movements, civil-military relations, and public opinion. I have traveled extensively in the Middle East and North Africa for both fun and professional purpose. Countries I have been more familiar with from a research perspective include Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, and Syria.

Contact: halbrecht[at]ua.edu